How the military of the Norse world evolved -

 

History has been a constant timeline of change - sometimes moving forward, sometimes backward, but always changing and adapting. One frequent cause of development would often be brought about in one country by another one nearby, either through the conquest of the former by the latter or simply in an attempt to follow the same line of progress. One example of such shared evolution can be found in the military development of the modern-day Scandanavian countries.

 Not only do we see clear correlations between the cause and effects of how and why these nations adapted and morphed their military tactics and equipment as they did, but we also see a similar path being followed by the other Viking-impacted regions of the British Isles and Iceland… To understand the timeline of the military transformation of the Norse world, we first must observe two things: the original military structure of the Vikings from today’s Sweden, Norway, and Denmark - and the contemporary war strategies of the continental European powers.

 First, let’s take a look at the Vikings… The Viking Era is generally said to have begun in roughly 793 AD and ended in 1066 AD. During this period, raids were essentially the foundation of the Viking lifestyle. These Scandanavian pirates were known for wreaking havoc along the European coasts through plunder, destruction, and murder and had a keen ability to navigate the seas between their homelands and victims.

 While the Vikings of Norway, for

 example, dabbled in colonization as well, such as in the case of the Orkney Islands, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, these feats were accomplished without military force. Therefore, it was through the raiding missions that we see the real tactics and military composition of the Scandanavians during this era.

 Although there aren’t many written records from the time that give us a clear idea of the weaponry and specific strategies utilized during these raids, archeological evidence has helped us to close the gaps greatly. In terms of weaponry, the evidence suggests that the Vikings employed a range of hardware, such as axes, both single and double-edged swords, spears, shields, helmets and mail shirts for armor, bow and arrows, and a dagger-like blade. Of course, given the fact that the Vikings were from three different modern-day nations, the exact equipment that would have been used from region to region may have varied, but we will get more into that later.

 When it comes to the tactics of

 the Vikings before such adaptation,

 there are a few things that we can say. For one, the Vikings were no more immune to weather conditions than the other European neighbors.

 This meant that raids often occurred only in the warmer months to avoid the rough winters. When the incursions did go on though, we aren’t exactly sure what methods the Vikings used entirely, but evidence seems to show that shield walls were a common formation in Viking warfare, and horses were probably not applied often in combat and as can be gathered by the common weaponry found in archeological investigations, although bow and arrows may have been used, it appears that close combat was more popular in general.

 These tactics would have been employed either by small raiding forces or

 larger armies that may have been a coalition of multiple Viking warbands or clans.

 This structure alone differs fairly drastically from that of the opposing European forces.

 Contrarily, the rest of Europe was made up of more kingdoms and empires such as the Franks and Byzantines. Although not every piece of the continent was at that time under such an imperial power, it was still not quite the same as the vastly divided individual structure of the Viking armies. When it came to weaponry, the coastal Europeans used many similar tools, such as axes, swords, bows, spears, and chainmail armor, although they appear to have boasted more variety and additional weapons like maces and war hammers, as well as more extensive armor.

 Horses and other mounted animals were also more prominent in the opponents of the Vikings.

 Pitched battles, though not as common

 as many believe, were a more significant part of European warfare, and clashes were generally fought for more substantial reasons than simply looking for loot - though

 such raids still existed at the time. For the mainland Europeans, castles and other fortifications were a significant part of hostilities as well as siege warfare. Still, war strategy and hardware were not entirely the same all throughout Europe and would not expand the same to the Scandanavian nations.

 When the Viking Age came to a close

 at the opening of the 11th century,

 the military structures of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were all more or less the same - as were the regions that had been colonized by the Vikings, such as Iceland. Packed infantry with limited chainmail armor and a lack of cavalry were key characteristics of the Scandanavian armies.

 Furthermore, gathering larger armies mostly relied on the coming together of a multitude of individually led armies under different management. Ships and sea navigation were incredibly crucial as all of these budding nations mostly relied on their overseas looting for monetary growth, and when it came to weaponry, the only possible deviation may have been in Sweden, where evidence suggests that some military characteristics may have been influenced by the far east. Nonetheless, in every case, the next few decades would mark a period of Europeanization, although this would occur slightly differently throughout Scandanavia.

 The common threads were the further solidifying of the crown and aristocracy in each region, the adoption of Christianity, and the

 progression of military tactics and gear.

 One significant factor contributing to the changes made in Norway was the determination of nearby Denmark to invade in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Danes had been lucky enough to face minimal internal conflict as their kingdom developed into a more powerful entity, and although they initially seemed to retain the military structure of their Viking ancestors especially in terms of the gathering of an army - adjustments were starting to be made throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. Some tactics remained unchanged throughout the 11th century, such as the preference of temporary forts over the more continental fortified castles and the like, in addition to the use of their typical conical helmets - which differed from

 other European troops - and circular shields, complimented by the earlier mentioned Viking gear.

 This hardware began to change over the 12th century though, and we see a shift toward heavy cavalry suddenly becoming popularized, chainmail garments becoming more commonplace, ranged weapons being added more often to use, and the ax losing favor to the sword and spear.

 Interestingly, the once conical helmet now began to resemble the flat-topped

 contemporary from continental Europe, and surcoats - much like in the rest of Europe - began to be worn by Scandinavian nobility. Furthermore, with the establishment of new laws in Denmark, the crown was gaining more and more authority to gather troops and require military service when want or need arose, as opposed to solely relying on the loyalty of local rulers.

 Norway, contrarily, was often preoccupied with internal conflicts in addition to Danish meddling.

 Still, the Norwegians attempted to make the same kinds of changes to their military structure as the Danes had done, and found some success.

 Armor and weapons were almost identical between Denmark and Norway in this era, and although land tactics were also exceedingly similar throughout their evolution, sea battles proved to be of much greater importance to the Norwegians than the Danes. The main difference at this time may have been the variation between the new Danish laws relating to the crown’s ability to raise an army and the still weaker ability of the Norwegian ruler to do the same - which in turn created smaller armies for the latter.

 Additionally, Norway opted not to utilize cavalry in the way that Denmark now was, mostly due to the unwilling terrain. Axes likewise remained more popular in Norway at this time, and it would be fair to say that, although Norway was on a path much like that of Denmark - possibly thanks to the Danes’ frequent endeavors on Norwegian soil - it appears that Norway was a tad behind.

 However, neither Denmark nor Norway was quite as slow as Sweden. Much like Norway, though in a different form, Sweden was dealing with internal strife and was more geographically isolated than its Danish counterparts. Sweden did, nevertheless, benefit from a lack of intervention by Denmark, while its crown more closely resembled the structure of the crown in Norway. The Swedish monarch would gain power over time, and it seems that the Swedes regardless began to adopt continental European military components just as the rest of Scandinavia. For one, archeological evidence points to the existence of the use of fortified structures such as the Borg and Garrison discovered in Birka. When it came to weaponry, the Swedes mostly resembled the Danes and Norwegians, except for the special popularity of the bow and arrow that was not seen in the other Scandinavian regions. Furthermore, armor in Sweden seemed to differ in some cases from Denmark and Norway, and appears to be influenced by the east - possibly Byzantium or Central Asia - and battle tactics as well were an amalgamation of influences from the east and Sweden’s fellow Scandinavians.

 Over the following centuries, all 3 regions, though at different rates, continued to move toward continental Europeanisation with weaponry, armor, strategy, fortifications, and even diplomatic ties. In contrast, the Viking-influenced or colonized regions such as Iceland and parts of the British Isles did not evolve the same way as the Scandinavian kingdoms due to both isolation and lack of necessity, and changes were made at a very different pace.

 Nevertheless, only 2 centuries after the end of the Viking Age, the lands that birthed the famous Scandinavian pirates would be, politically and militarily, in an entirely new era and on a path to identify more with their continental European counterparts than their own ancestors...